Multiple-diameter winch drums of the horizontal axis windlass type are commonplace in the art, and there are examples also of the free-end, vertical-axis, deck type. However, in the application of the multiple-diameter drum concept to free-end deck winches, which is the area with which we are particularly concerned and which are usually hand-powered, it is particularly important to have economy and efficiency of operation in the sense of requiring minimal attention by crew members when the winch is in operation.
Furthermore, all such winches known to us have very specifically required that the drum portions be separated by a lip which is designed and dimensioned to prevent line from transferring from one portion to the other.